Desserts for triathletes trying to stay lean in the off-season, by Ben Greenfield
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 1:59PM 
Question: As a triathlete trying to stay "lean in the off-season," am I allowed to have desserts, and if so, do you have any acceptable options? I'm going to go crazy if I have to spend one more night watching my husband eat ice cream while I sit there sipping water!
Answer: We've all been there. You want to cheat, but sometimes a Dairy Queen Blizzard or a slice of cheesecake with chocolate just does too much damage. Here's a few creative options that I recommend to some of the athletes I coach:
Fruit Parfait: Stir 1 Handful Frozen Fruit into 1/2 cup Plain Yogurt with 1 tablespoon raw honey (Plain, Low-Fat Greek Yogurt tastes even better!)
Dipped Chocolate: 150-200 calories worth of a Dark Chocolate Bar dipped in 1 teaspoon Almond Butter
Almond Butter/Chocolate Banana Protein Shake: 1 tablespoon Almond or Cashew Butter + 1 scoop protein powder (I prefer Mt. Capra's Organic Double-Bonded Whey Protein) + 1 tablespoon Hershey's chocolate or Ovaltine + 1/2 banana (optional), and ice/water to taste. If it's after a workout, you can use yogurt instead of water.
Warm Salted Nuts: Handful Almonds or Walnuts drizzled with Honey saute nuts in 1 teaspoon olive oil for 5-10 minutes, lightly add sea salt, and
drizzle with 1 tablespoon raw honey.
Ben's Reese's Cup: Use 1/2 cup of plain, fat-free yogurt. Add 1 tablespoon nut butter and 1 tablespoon dark chocolate pieces or cocoa mix. Stir together, close your eyes and imagine you just took it out of that little orange wrapper. Freeze for added effect.
Enjoy!
Ben at http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com
Reader Comments (2)
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by TrainingPeaks, Janis Musins. Janis Musins said: Thank U @TrainingPeaks & Ben Greenfield for another good idea how to live through another offseasson! Yamm http://tinyurl.com/ygg6kdq [...]
Starting off the season how can I lean up but not cut so many calories that I don't hurt my endurance workouts-5'4 135, 39yrs F-Your nutrition plan looks interesting. Thanks for your input-